A modern antique rug from Morocco that features a simple design with an ivory field beneath an enlarged “I-shaped” form in brown within a brown border. Moroccan-style area rugs for the western market were originally made in countries such as India, Persia, and Turkey. As the industrial revolution created a new merchant class, vintage area rugs were a sought-after status symbol demonstrating wealth and good taste. Watch any period film set in the late 19th or early 20th centuries and you will almost certainly see an oriental area rug on the floor. From versatile flatweaves to shaggy hand-knotted area rugs or runners, Moroccan rugs are both decorative and functional. They are valued for their technical qualities, expert use of fibers, great tensile strength, and abrasion resistance. Without a doubt, the original tribal Moroccan rugs from the Doris Leslie Blau collection bring character and a touch of worldliness to an interior.